(Albany, NY)—In an open letter to the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), nearly 60 business and civic leaders called on Senate Co-President Jeff Klein and the IDC to bring campaign finance reform legislation to a vote on the floor of the State Senate.

Noting that at the time the Senate coalition leadership was formed, IDC leader Senator Jeff Klein said the move would allow major reforms to get passed, including “serious campaign finance reform,” the letter calls on the IDC to bring the bill to a vote, writing: “If instead you allow reform to fail while you share control of the Senate, your coalition will be remembered for obstructing good legislation and enabling partisan gridlock above all else.”

The open letter was printed today as a full-page ad in the Westchester Journal News and the Staten Island Advance.

“State and national leaders are sending a clear signal to the IDC,” said Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “At the beginning of this year, both the IDC and Governor Cuomo put campaign finance reform with public financing at the top of their agendas. It’s time to follow through on that promise and ensure a reform bill gets a full vote in the Senate. The IDC can break the logjam in Albany. All New Yorkers are watching.”

The full text and a list of signatories is below:

The People Deserve a Vote:

An Open Letter to the NYS Senate’s
Independent Democratic Conference
Regarding Fair Elections

June 10, 2013

State Senate Co-President Jeff Klein
State Senator David Carlucci
State Senator Diane Savino
State Senator David Valesky

Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247

To the Members of the Independent Democratic Conference:

This has been a strange and difficult year in New York State government. It is in your hands whether it is remembered as one of reform and renewal in the face of scandal, or just another year of business as usual in Albany.

Last year, when your conference broke away from other Senate Democrats and shifted control of the chamber, you promised to end “the type of political gamesmanship that has, in the past, overrun a healthy and functioning democracy.” Your leader, Senator Klein, said the move would allow major reforms to get passed, including “serious campaign finance reform.” He added that he was “extremely confident” that such reforms would “come to the Senate floor for a vote.”

As a bipartisan group of business and civic leaders who support comprehensive reform, including a small donor matching program, we were heartened by these promises. Governor Cuomo reserved judgment, writing that his opinion of your governing coalition “will be based on how those senators function as a leadership group and perform on the important issues for the people of the state.” He proposed a litmus test with campaign finance reform near the top. The time for this test has come.

The Governor said that your coalition will either “wind up being a facilitator of transparency and progressive politics or an enabler of more obfuscation.” With only two weeks left in the legislative session, we are concerned it may be the latter. At the very moment that passage of real campaign finance reform appears within reach — the Governor and a majority of legislators publicly support it — one of your members has said your conference would not force a bill to the floor without the support of the Senate Republicans, even though they make up a minority of the chamber. As you know, the Republican leadership in the Senate has been vocally opposed.

We understand that you introduced a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill. This was an important first step. However, introducing a bill without working to get it passed is worth little to the people of New York. It is wrong to give any conference or legislative leader the power to protect the status quo and prevent voting on an essential reform. This is particularly so during a period of record corruption, when reform has the support of a majority of officeholders and the public.

No fewer than 17 public opinion polls over the last two years show that New Yorkers across the state want the system to change. The people want a campaign finance system that works for all New Yorkers — not just special interest donors.

Governor Cuomo recently said, “The people of this state have the right to know what the position of the legislators really are.” He is right, and only a vote will do that. This is a critical moment. If you bring campaign finance reform legislation to a vote, New Yorkers will celebrate your leadership. If instead you allow reform to fail while you share control of the Senate, your coalition will be remembered for obstructing good legislation and enabling partisan gridlock above all else.

Sincerely,

Richard AbornCAAS, LLC

Gerald BenjaminDistinguished Professor of Political Science at SUNY New Paltz

Fmr. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert24th Congressional District, NY

Andrea Bonime-BlancCEO, GEC Risk Advisory LLC

Fmr. Senator Bill Bradley
Co-Chair of Americans for Campaign Reform

Michael BruneExecutive Director
Sierra Club

David L. CalonePresident & CEO, Jove Equity Partners, LLC

Andrew G. Celli, Jr.
Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP

Ellen Chesler

Diana Cihak
Founder of WomenElect

Sean CoffeyFmr. Candidate for NYS Attorney General

Richard Davis

Cynthia DiBartoloCEO of Tigress Financial Partners
Chairperson of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce